As readers will know non-native pacific ocean pink salmon (Onchorhynchus gorbuscha) appeared in numbers in many UK rivers this summer. The occasional pink salmon had turned up in Scotland in the past, including a single specimen caught in the lower Spey in 2015, but almost always in very low numbers. The origin of these strays is considered to be from stocking carried out in northern Russia (as far back as the 1950s). The initial stocking in Russian waters appeared to fail but from 1985 “odd year” spawning stock was introduced into rivers in the White Sea area. Self sustaining populations…

Source: Spey Fishery Board – Pink salmon egg trials